Toon Aerts, Thursday 29 December, convened a press conference in Merksplas (Belgium) to talk about his case of positivity. We recall that on 19 January he tested positive for letrozole (a metabolite of letrozole). He hasn't raced since last season and, considering the negative outcome of the counter-analysis, it seems like a situation full of questions.
Many industry insiders expected that, during the press conference, Toon would declare his complete acquittal and relative new team for the return to competitions (many already mentioned the Intermarché Circus with which Toon Aerts has been training over the last few weeks and which signed his younger brother Thijs).
Instead there was a whole other announcement and, tearfully, he claimed he didn't knowingly take the product and suggests it may have entered his body through a contaminated nutritional product.
WHO WE É TOON AERTS?
Toon Aerts (born 19 October 1993 in Malle) is a Belgian cyclo-cross racer and road cyclist. In the cyclo-cross specialty he won a European title, in 2016, two World Cups, in the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons, and three consecutive world bronze medals, in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Unfortunately I received a letter that no one would like to receive. The UCI proposes a two-year suspension, due to which I will no longer be able to race this season. This is too severe a punishment for someone who has always had a straight back. I had never even heard of the product in question. To this day I still haven't cut my hair. We went with my team to find out what went wrong and made several suggestions to the UCI. But they judge that I should be suspended for two years anyway. It was hell telling my parents, girlfriend, brother and everyone else. But they continued to support me and that is very gratifying. I will continue to do everything possible to prove my innocence. I am convinced that I will resume my place in cyclocross. I have many uncertainties, but one thing is certain, my second career will start at the latest on February 16, 2024 – Toon Aerts
According to USADA, the metabolite letrozole is "an aromatase inhibitor, which means it blocks an enzyme responsible for a key step in the formation of estrogen." It can be used to treat some forms of breast cancer, but can improve performance by increasing testosterone levels.
Lawyers have argued that the product likely came from a contaminated dietary supplement (the levels found are very low), although they have yet to find the likely source. Aerts has not had a haircut since the initial checkup in January 2022 and hopes to be able to prove in part using hair samples that he has not tried drugs.
Aerts' legal team will file an argument before the UCI anti-doping panel and may appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. There were no official comments from the UCI on Thursday, but according to Aerts' lawyers, the cycling federation is offering a two-year ban instead of a four-year ban.
